


Welcome to Le Cirque Des Cauchemars

by SamanthaB



Category: The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
Genre: And it features the tagged characters although they are not the main ones in the plot, This is an AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 13:17:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5165192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamanthaB/pseuds/SamanthaB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once the circus was known as the circus of dreams but things have changed. Now it is known as the circus of nightmares but those are just stories right? Maybe not...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome to Le Cirque Des Cauchemars

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!   
> So I thought that I should maybe give a small warning here... The AO3 warnings were way too violent for happens in here and although for me there's really no problem with what I wrote it might be a bit too much for more sensitive people? This is not a horror story in any form, it's not meant to be, but the images I try to pass on are not all rainbows and flowers, I guess. So be aware of that.  
> (not even blood or major gore stuff described by the way)

The circus arrived unannounced. One day wasn’t there and then overnight it appeared. No one advertised for it but it was the talk of the town the very next morning. Pydredd, Pyd for friends, was not excluded in the gossiping and while the circus had not even set in properly she had already decided she would be visiting that night. It was so easy to sneak out after everyone went to bed that she would do just that.

And so she did.

When she arrived to the gates of the circus she had to push her way around so she could be front line, it wasn’t that hard considering she was still just a petite child. The gates were still closed, forged in a black metal but what really awed Pyd was the way the name of the circus was lightened and the metal around it forged. “Les Cirque Des Cauchemars” it read. She had heard about this circus many times but none of the stories scared her away from those gates. She quite liked the stories actually, legends mostly. How it had been the “Le Cirque Des Rêves” once and how it had been full of wonder and warmth.

A clock she couldn’t yet see started sounding, the sound echoing on Pyd’s ears. With a creak the gates parted open.

As Pyd stepped past the big gates she looked up at the clock, mesmerised by it. It was old and there were obviously some pieces missing. She couldn't tell how it had looked when it was still in one piece and rust wasn't starting to overpower it, but even so the sight of it made her stop her tracks and stop to look at it, take in the details that were still intact. It was moving, and the once obvious flowing movements that the pieces had now were more like small jerks like the clock himself was haunted.

After a few minutes Pyd finally let herself look away and was able to take in her surroundings. The stripped tents that on the outside looked white and black now up close were more of a burnt white and washed off black, there were wholes all around them, some small some were just big tears that were somehow patched up.

A shiver ran up her spine as she once more resumed her walk and the grass underneath her crunched with every step, the feeling, although Pyd didn't truly know it, was very much alike stepping on bones opposite to actual grass. She had stepped that grass a lot of times before and it was soft even for bare feet. But that was before the circus arrived, now she didn't even dare to look down and make sure it was grass, left alone take her shoes off.

The girl walked around for a while, trying to see what looked more appealing, in the distance she saw a tittle that promised only amazement. It was the Fortune Teller’s tent.

Pyd was about to walk over to the fortune teller's tent when she saw a small stage between tents and on it a woman was twisting her body in incredible positions. The little girl walked over and let herself stay and watch along with more people who had gathered as well.

It was almost a kind of dance that left someone in a trance as they watched. The movements between positions were slow and somewhat creepy. Pyd found herself unable to look away but at the same time she had goose bumps all over her skin. It was as if the contortionist on the small round stage was about to dissemble herself by the time she reached the next position, like her body wasn't really supposed to do such positions.

Pyd didn't leave until the end of the show when the Circus’ contortionist left without a word, her eyes distant from the public and a certain dark glare towards the tents around her.

It took a few seconds until the girl snapped out of her thoughts and calmly walked towards the fortune teller's tent, the tent she had her eyes on already. A weird feeling tingled inside her as Pyd stepped closer and closer. This circus was like no other Pyd had visit, it was dark, creepy...

Crunch... Crunch... The grass still felt like stepping on dried bones and the tent didn't seem to be any closer by now. Pyd frowned and walked a bit faster but it was good as nothing for the tent was still at the exact same distance. A laugh. One of those that send shivers up your spine in a way that makes you want to curl over yourself. Pyd looked around. There was nothing. Her heart raced on her chest, she could even hear it on her ears, feel it on her toes. A weird kind of cold hit her body like Pyd had walked into a wall which made her breath itch and get much heavier.

"Who's there?" Pyd asked but no answer came. She swallowed hard past the lump on her throat and finally tried to walk again and this time the tent did get closer and so Pyd jogged over to it.

Pyd stopped by the entrance and took a deep breath, quickly fixing her clothes. It was all worthless because as soon as she did it the heavy materials that made the curtains like doors parted from each other and a hand pulled her in. "Don't just stand there." A woman growled.

The little girl widened her eyes in fear for a few seconds as her eyes tried to adjust to the very poorly lit tent. There were only a couple candles resting on a small round table and that was pretty much it. Looking closely She could swear the candles weren't even touching the table, She got scared and looked up at the strange woman. Her face was half covered by layers of veils, her dress looked quite heavy and it was just a mixture of different kinds of cloths and materials all holding together by a kind of belt that wrapped almost her whole torso.

"So, what do you want to know little girl?" The woman asked in a sickening voice that penetrated her skin and made her twitch nervously.

"I..." It was all Pyd was able to say before she was pushed to the chair in front of her. She looked around, scared once more. The fortune teller was on the other side of the table and hadn't even tried to reach out for her and there wasn't anyone else in the tent. Who had pushed her then?

"If you don't choose what you want to know, I can choose for you" The woman said and without giving the other girl time to reply Pyd grabbed an old, used and torn tarot card pack and started shuffling.

The visitor watched her long bony fingers, with pointy nails at the end some broken some cracked, for a few seconds before her gaze moved up to her face again.

Her breath caught on her throat as Pyd got only a glimpse of the fortune teller's face. It was still hard to make out any details for the veils together ended up blocking most of her face. Still, Pyd was able to see that the woman was full of weird rings all over face, nose, eyebrow, and ears, around her eyes were two big dark circles, whether they were make up or not she wasn't sure, but it sure didn't look so. The glint on the woman's eyes what what made her breaths go uneven, she looked... Crazy. As if the woman had lost all the sanity she once must have had.

The visitor was snapped out of her thoughts when the woman laughed, her mostly chipped teeth showing between her chapped lips. The laughter was not the one Pyd had heard before but the shiver that ran down her spine was of the same creepiness.

"You will suffer a lot, my girl." The Fortune teller said and Pyd had not even realised she had picked between two stacks of cards, She had just been so focused on the woman.

She took a deep breath. "Suffer?"

The woman looked up, even with the veils her glare burned like fire. "The cards don't tell me everything. You will have to find by yourself." She spat and the poor little girl just shut her mouth and nodded. “Now Leave, we are done here.”

The little girl nodded again, words lost on her throat and scrambled out of the tent. Once outside Pyd was able to finally take a deep breath, the cool night’s air filling her lungs and bringing her general temperature down. She had not realised she felt so hot inside.

That was when Pyd noticed a sign a few tents over and without even thinking twice she started making her way to the tent, shivers running up her spine at the crunch noises under her feet. There was no way Pyd would never get used to those creepy noises.

The girl stopped by the entrance curtains, looking up at the crooked sign just for a few seconds, then she just pushed the heavy material off her sight and stepped in, feeling the cool air on her skin right away. It took her a while to take in the sight around her but eventually she did. Pyd could guess that she was looking at what once had been a beautiful Ice garden. But now… It was a garden in a way. And like what she had seen so far, it had its own sense of strangeness, creepiness. Some of the flowers were half melted, the trees covered in ice ivies, everything just falling apart in the same way the rest of the circus was, like a well-oiled machine was getting rusty and slowly falling to pieces.

Pyd took her time looking around, feeling mesmerized and terrified at the same time. She kept waiting for something to jump on her… Maybe the Fortune Teller from her previous tent. Pyd could see where the Circus had taken its name and she could also see the reasons why once it had been called the Circus of Dreams. A lot had changed but the magic in the air hadn’t, it was just a different type of it. This one was dark, heavy. Her mother had spoken about a completely different one. An enchanting, light one.

After the garden Pyd saw herself in a mirror labyrinth. Getting out of there proved to be much harder than originally planned. It was like the mirrors lied to her and while sometimes she saw the reflection of the exit, and if the girl followed that direction she would end up in just another dead mirrored end. The mirrors were mostly crooked and broken and with rust all over them, it was hard enough to get an image from them already. For a couple of times she thought that she was free but then Pyd would look around and see more mirrors as if they produced around her every time she was so closed to the exit.

The chill-inducing female laugh echoed through the room at some point. Pyd looked up and a shriek left her lips as her reflection was different. Her body was rotting, it was definitely her but at the same time she looked odd. That was when she realised that the reflection in front of her was literally an image of her rotting in a coffin, her hair grey sticking on her skull and a pained expression on her dried skin. The little girl wanted to look away but she didn’t find the strength within herself to do so. It took her a few minutes until she was able to just blink and move on.

 Pyd looked around but of course she didn’t see anyone. Pyd didn’t even hear anyone, making her wonder if she was alone in the never ending labyrinth.

It was like she was meant to see the reflection of herself in the coffin because after that the exit couldn’t have been easier to find.

Pyd jumped and looked around, heavy breathing making her chest move. She would dream with this place… Well, not dream. Not exactly.

After taking in her surroundings, just black and white tents, torn and old. She decided that maybe she was just hungry, maybe she would enjoy the Circus much more if she had something to eat. That would certainly help. So Pyd collected herself and started walking around just looking for food she could buy.

Pyd had just picked up the scent of what seemed like something edible and was forced to make a sharp turn on her path almost walking into two people. On a better look she noticed it wasn’t two people but one. At least they shared the same legs. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. Twins that were one. Same legs but then their torsos separated in two and from there everything was their own. A girl and a boy.

“Excuse me.” Pyd said trying to get away. Their eyes were fixed on her, watching her like she was a prey, it sent shivers down her spine.

“Enjoying the circus?” The girl asked with a sickening grin. “I’m Widget and he’s Poppet.”

“Or maybe I’m Poppet and she’s Widget, but that doesn’t really matter, does it? The question here is, who are you?” The boy asked with a grin that mirrored his sister’s perfectly except the way his lips curled at the end and the way his eyes twinkled madly made Pyd feel as if he was actually pretty dangerous. “You shouldn’t be on this side of the Circus.” He said the smile still on his lips.

Pyd swallowed past the lump on her throat as she watched them, they both let their torsos be half limp falling to opposite sides, it was almost expected that their legs wouldn’t handle it and the flesh would just tear apart. Opposite to the Fortune Teller Poppet and Widget looked cleaner, straight white teeth, fair washed up skin, better clothes… It didn’t mean they looked healthier though, or even less scary. If anything they looked scarier than the Fortune Teller. The woman had obviously lost her mind but she was harmless but these two… They looked like they were about to jump on Pyd to kill her.

“I’m sorry.” Pyd finally stuttered out. “I was just looking for some food.”

“That is not this way.” The girl said.

“Go back. Now.” The boy added and Pyd didn’t even waste a second before turning her back and running away, the crunching noises under her feet sounding even worse, just louder and more violent.

She only stopped when she reached a big opening between tents where lots of people were gathering. Pyd looked around, panting. People were passing by with weird things on their hands, black things on sticks melting onto their hands and odd shaped smelly things, that was when she realised it was food people were carrying. Or at least people were eating those nasty looking and smelling things whether it was food or not. She saw selling carts and felt her stomach flipping in the most unpleasant way.

Pyd closed her eyes not wanting to throw up. She no longer felt hungry, Pyd could definitely wait until she got home to eat.

Without noticing Pyd was led by the mass of moving people to the tallest tent in the circus. She only noticed when she found herself surrounded with people dressed completely in black but with one red accessory contrasting against all that darkness. She had heard of these people, people who followed the circus blindly. Wherever the circus went they were with it. Pyd could understand why people wouldn’t let the circus go. Even with everything she had seen that night the circus was mesmerizing all the same.

She sat as soon as she got the chance and waited, not really knowing what for.

The lights dimmed, spiking Pyd’s curiosity. Soon enough spotlights were turned on. There were a few and all pointed to the centre of the arena, a low murmur ran through the whole tent but it stopped abruptly leaving a chilling silence behind when the lights focus moved up until they it landed on some acrobats.

They looked skinny and very pale, the lights only made them look paler, making some tears on their skin appear. Pyd squinted her eyes and then it was when she realised that there was no safety net and that those red tears on their skins were actually results from falls. She could also see some bruises on their skin.

The acrobats were very still ready to start their show but making no mention to when that would be and the people in the tent remained in their petrified silence.

Pyd blinked when her eyes started to burn and when she opened them the ill looking acrobat she had been staring at wasn’t there anymore. She looked around confused and that was when she saw the act had started.

It was the most anxious thirty minutes of her life, the acrobats spent the whole act nearly dropping each other, hands only reaching for hands in the last second. Pyd was holding her shirt so tightly her knuckles burnt and she was sure that her mother would notice the crumble on her shirt’s hem and scold her for it, she was holding her breaths for long her head was getting light and she was starting to sweat even though she had been sitting for minutes without moving a single hair. She just couldn’t help it, it was like she was expecting the acrobats to fall or just break apart like little dolls.

Once the act ended they just walked out of the tent, not caring for the applause or anything else, they just walked back from wherever they had come from in first place.

Pyd stayed on her sit for a while, heart beating fast and hard on her chest and eyes wide. She forced a couple gulps of fresh air inside her lungs. Her legs seemed to have died during the act and it was a bit hard to bring them back to life. Once that was done Pyd decided that it was enough and that she needed to come back home.

She was pretty much running between tents following the mains paths to out of the circus and it was a relief when she didn’t get lost again between the black and white tent nightmare.

Pyd only started panting when she saw the gates and speeded for them but as fast as the gates approached the grass also got closer to her face.

The pain only sank in a few seconds after when Pyd was being lifted from the ground, the grass had actually been softer than Pyd had ever expected but at the same time it had a slimy feel to it that made her gag. Pyd only looked up to the person who helped her to her feet when said person shook her hard.

“You leaving already?” A man asked with the same sickening grin on his face that she had seen on the twins before. He had some fancy clothes but they were washed off with age and torn in some places and a top hat that was far from being new and in a good shape. His teeth were yellow and blackened as they rot in the man’s mouth, his eyes wide and loony.

“I-I… It’s late.” Pyd said turning her face a bit for the stench of the man, his clothes, his breath, were making her feel sick all over again.

“But why are you leaving?” He asked as if her excuse was nowhere near acceptable, he pulled her closer, a slight frown forming on his eyebrows. “Isn’t my circus good enough?” He asked his wide loony eyes turning slightly dangerous.

Pyd swallowed dry. “Of course it is. Bu-but…”

“Ah-ah-ah” He said as if warning her to not continue. “No buts, my dear. My circus is either good enough or not good enough and think well about what your answer will be.” The man said between teeth, the hot breath on Pyd’s face almost making her gag.

“It’s way more than enough, sir!” She managed in a gasp.

“Now that is what I am talking about!” The man finally let her go, patting her hard on the back. “Isn’t it amazing? Isn’t it magical?” He said the dangerousness gone from his eyes, he looked just like a lunatic now. He pulled her close again but this time for a side hug. Her face was almost completely pressed against his vest where two letters were sewn, the lines forming the letters not continuous as some of the strings had broken already with time, still Pyd was able to understand the _B.C._ on the vest.

“Absolutely.” Pyd mumbled, afraid the man would be angry again.

“It used to be glorious, once upon a time. Then they couldn’t handle the weight of it anymore.” The man’s voice turned sour, his gaze distant.

“They?” Pyd asked, curious but afraid.

The man blinked and looked down at her. “What are you doing here? Kids are not allowed in the circus! Go away! Come on!” He said and without any ceremony he started pushing her out of the circus past the gates. Pyd offered no resistance as she wanted to leave even before she had fallen down.

Eventually she started running and didn’t stop even when the gates were behind her, she only turned when she heard the echo of the laughter from before, this time it was colder the shiver more violent.

Her hands covered her mouth to muffle the screams that escaped through her lips when she saw two dead people by the gates. They were looking at her and laughing and Pyd felt the ground almost slip under her feet as her legs lost strength.

She could see through them, they looked like they were rotting, the woman had a whole on her cheek the man had bones instead of a full hand, their clothes all torn and old like the rest of the circus. Pyd didn’t let herself take in more as she turned around and ran away to never come back to that circus of nightmares.

After all, the stories had been true.

 

                                                                                                                                         


End file.
